For the past nine months, the Israeli army has been relentlessly attacking the Gaza Strip, with no hope of achieving the two objectives set by Benjamin Netanyahu: “total victory” over Hamas and the release of the hostages captured on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli bombardments put the 116 hostages still alive at serious risk. As for the Islamist militia, whatever losses they have suffered, they have more than made up for them with recruits eager to avenge the death of one or more relatives killed in the Israeli strikes.
Nevertheless, the toll of this freewheeling war continues to worsen in Gaza, with over 38,000 people killed, or one in every 60 inhabitants. This death toll, already staggering, could double or triple due to the devastating combination of hunger and epidemics.
Water access increasingly compromised
The colossal challenge of such a humanitarian emergency must not blind us to the medium- and long-term environmental impact of ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip. With its population density comparable to Hong Kong’s, this territory was already experiencing significant strain on its natural resources, aggravated by an Israel-imposed blockade since 2007.
Frequent power cuts had convinced 20% of households to switch to solar power, while the United Nations (UN) equipped schools and hospitals with photovoltaic installations. Wadi Gaza, or the “Gaza Valley,” Palestine’s largest wetland, had been rehabilitated during long years of patient work.
Bombardments have swept away these efforts, destroying more than half the water supply and wastewater management infrastructure. According to the UN, the daily volume of water accessible per person has fallen to a few liters since this spring, compared with 85 liters before the current conflict.
Much of Wadi Gaza has been ravaged, compromising the entire ecosystem that depended on it. More than half the arable land and a third of greenhouses have been hit by Israeli army strikes, with complete or partial destruction. Two-thirds of livestock perished in these strikes or were slaughtered in advance, compromising their natural replacement, while cattle feed became a default food supplement for a starving population.
The “security zone” that Israel imposes on its border has also been extended from 300 meters to one kilometer in depth. Palestinian farmers who dare to venture out to cultivate their land are liable to be shot at without warning. This is also the fate reserved for Palestinian fishermen. All this destruction and restriction are contributing to the terrible level of food insecurity (95% of the population), with half a million women, men, and children in “catastrophic insecurity.”
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